Celebrating Jedi Icons

Go behind the design of the third coin in our UK coin collection inspired by Star Wars™.

With the first coin focusing on lovable droids R2-D2™ and C-3PO™, and the second coin featuring the evil Sith pairing of Darth Vader™ and Emperor Palpatine™, it was only fitting that we bounce back from the Dark Side with a design inspired by two of the most popular heroes in the entire Star Wars universe. With that being said, who better to represent the good of the Jedi than two of its most renowned practitioners, Luke Skywalker™ and Princess Leia™?

As the beacons of light that fly the flag for the Jedi throughout the original and sequel trilogies, Luke and Leia are two of the main protagonists in the franchise, driving the narrative throughout their appearances in the movies. As such, it was important to create a coin design befitting their status. Utilising Lucasfilm’s official library, we were able to comb a vast collection of images to pick the perfect action shots of the Jedi heroes, ensuring the coin design not only does justice to these Star Wars icons but captures them as they appear in the original trilogy.

At the helm of this process, as for our previous coins inspired by Star Wars, was seasoned product designer Ffion Gwillim. Having amassed a growing wealth of experience working with licensed, third-party imagery, with previous examples including designs that featured in our Winnie the Pooh™ collection, she was the ideal choice to ensure the transposition process came off without a hitch.

The reverse design features Luke Skywalker in his classic ‘farmer’ attire, which he debuts in the very first Star Wars film from 1977 before he becomes a Jedi Knight. Similarly, he is also sporting the blue lightsaber he uses in both the aforementioned original and the 1981 sequel, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back™. Meanwhile, Princess Leia is shown wearing her famous outfit from the first Star Wars film, complete with her iconic side buns that have become almost as iconic as the character itself.

The background itself provides another subtle tip of the cap to the original Star Wars: A New Hope™, as it too features scenery synonymous with the original. The backdrop to Luke and Leia’s portraits is in fact the interior of the Tantive IV, the ship that Darth Vader and his team of Stormtroopers™ memorably hijack at the very opening of the first Star Wars film. Tantive IV is also the same ship on which Princess Leia records the secret message to Obi Wan Kenobi™ with R2-D2’s help.

Finally, as with the previous two coins in our collection inspired by Star Wars, this coin also features a special lenticular feature as an added bonus for eagle-eyed fans of the franchise. Whilst the previous coins featured logos and imagery relative to their own themes, this coin includes two insignias synonymous with the two Jedi siblings. One such image is the iconic Rebel Alliance ‘Starbird’ that memorably adorns Luke’s helmet as he does battle in the X-Wing at the climax of Star Wars: A New Hope™, during which he single-handedly destroys the original Death Star. Meanwhile, the second logo is the winged crest of the Jedi Order. Much like that of the Old Republic, the crest was designed as a winged blade of light intended to resemble the shape of a living sunrise.

With so many references to the original Star Wars film packed into such a small artistic canvas, the Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia 2023 UK Coin is the perfect addition to any collection of sci-fi memorabilia. Available in gold Proof, silver Proof and Brilliant Uncirculated editions, you can add this coin to your collection today by clicking here for more details.